Jill Stuart – Pre Spring/Summer 2016 Ready-To-Wear

Jill Stuart’s latest collection ticked all the need-it-now boxes. Suede button-front skirt, check. High-collar blouse, check. Flared trousers, boho embroidery, and barely there slipdress? Check, check, check. Stuart has a knack for distilling the season’s top trends right as they’re heating up, like Fall’s A-line miniskirts and boxy jackets. While it’s easy to find other designers’ influence in her clothes, Stuart succeeds in making the trends palatable for her customers, who hail from uptown, downtown, and everywhere in between. For Resort, that meant mixing those of-the-moment shapes with romantic prints inspired by the dark, surrealist photography of Irina Ionesco. Ruffled tops and willowy dresses were covered in wild black or dusty pink florals similar to the real blooms in Ionesco’s work. Elsewhere, Stuart incorporated flowers in a sweeter, almost artificial way, as on a white appliquéd tunic worn over a linen T-shirt and white pants. Those layering propositions felt particularly new for the brand, but we’re betting the suede ponchos—which were styled with shorts on Ally Ertel in the lookbook but would pass as dresses on shorter women—will be top sellers.